Last 18 Balls

COMMENTARY

So that is it from here then. Do not go away though, just switch tabs and follow the second match of Super Sunday! Chennai take on Rajasthan at their fortress in Chepauk! That one promises to be a good game with one team having won 2 games out of 2 and one having lost 2 out of 2!

Prayas Ray Barman, Colin de Grandhomme did stay out in the middle and Bangalore eventually ended up getting all out on the penultimate ball of the 20th over. Hyderabad won by a massive margin of 118 runs and inflict more pain on an already under-pressure Bangalore franchise. The visitors will do well to remove this out of their mind as soon as possible and turn up for the next game with a better frame of mind. Earlier on, Virat Kohli had won the toss and elected to bowl first but that turned out to be a nightmare decision as both openers of the hosts made centuries and ensured they posted a total which the away side would not even get near to.

The game was almost 90 percent done after Hyderabad had posted in the first innings but if there was one squad that had the capacity of chasing it, it was surely one which has Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in it. But nothing of that kind was even allowed as Nabi picked 4 wickets in an opening spell of 4 overs. 9 overs done and Bangalore were 40/6. There was no coming back from there and all Bangalore had left to try and do was to bat out the entirety of their overs.

This has been one steamroll of a game. After the tight ones in the past few days, this has come as an absolute shocker. Virat Kohli in the first game of the edition had said that it was good that the heavy loss they suffered then was a one-off and was glad that it was out of their way early in the tournament but tonight has been an equally, if not heavier defeat for them.

End of over 20 ( 3 Runs )RCB 113/9Yuzvendra Chahal* 1(3)Mohammed Siraj 3(8)
3 wickets for Sandeep Sharma. Sandeep Sharma is on a roll.
10 wickets down for RCB. Out batsman is Yuzvendra Chahal. It is all over for RCB.
19.5Sandeep Sharma to Yuzvendra Chahal.out, OUT! That's the final wicket and Bangalore are bowled out for 113. Shorter delivery on middle, Chahal looks to pull but top edges it to mid-wicket. Deepak Hooda there takes an easy catch. HYDERABAD WIN BY 118 RUNS.

19.4Sandeep Sharma to Mohammed Siraj. 1 run, Dropped but an excellent effort from Nabi. Shorter delivery on middle, Siraj looks to pull but mistimes it. Nabi comes running and looks to take the catch on the dive. The ball pops out of his hand though. Single taken.

19.2Sandeep Sharma to Yuzvendra Chahal. 1 run, Fuller delivery on middle and leg, Chahal strokes it to long on and rotates the strike.

19.1Sandeep Sharma to Mohammed Siraj. 1 run, Good length delivery on off, Siraj strokes it to covers for a single.

Sandeep Sharma to bowl the final over of the game.

End of over 19 ( 5 Runs )RCB 110/8Yuzvendra Chahal* 0(1)Mohammed Siraj 1(5)18.6Vijay Shankar to Yuzvendra Chahal. no run, Full ball on off, Chahal drives it straight back to the bowler.

18.5Vijay Shankar to Mohammed Siraj. 1 run, Full toss outside off, Siraj drives it to covers for a single.

18.4Vijay Shankar to Mohammed Siraj. no run, Full ball on off, Siraj fails to connect.

Yuzvendra Chahal is the last man in.

18.4Vijay Shankar to Mohammed Siraj.out, OUT! Run out! So much confusion here and in the end it is de Grandhomme who has to walk off. A length ball outside off, Siraj drives it towards covers and runs for the single. His partner is ball watching all along as the fielder at cover, Bhuvneshwar Kumar picks up the ball and throws it at the bowler's end. Shankar removes the bails at his end first and then scores a direct hit at the keeper's end. Sandeep Sharma runs from mid-wicket and tells the umpire that the batsman at the bowler's end, de Grandhomme was also out of the crease.

An appeal for run out has been taken upstairs. Colin de Grandhomme is the man in question here. Even if he is in. Mohammed Siraj has to walk back as there was run out at the other end as well and Siraj was way short there.

18.4Vijay Shankar to Mohammed Siraj.wide, 1 run, Wide! The ball is way wide on the leg side but the batsman still goes after it. The umpire has signalled a wide.

18.3Vijay Shankar to Colin De Grandhomme. 1 run, DROPPED! Bhuvneshwar at cover drops a sitter. Length ball outside off, de Grandhomme plays a drive on the up. The skipper at cover goes for the catch near his face and the ball bounces off his hands and goes behind him. The fielder in the deep comes in and keeps the batsman down to one.

Having registered their first win of the tournament at home against Rajasthan, Hyderabad are oozing with confidence and will want to carry the momentum in their next home match when they face Bangalore in the Indian T20 League on Sunday.

After two games – one at Chepauk and at home – Bangalore are still searching for a win. This is the first time that Virat Kohli and Co. haven’t won a game after two outing which makes this encounter all the more interesting.

Bangalore’s explosive batting line-up has failed to live up to its billing. While the 70 all-out in the first game against Chennai was more due to the pitch conditions, their failure to chase down Mumbai’s total of 187 at home on Thursday has brought the batting line-up in the spotlight. (ALSO READ: You destroyed my day: Sanju Samson to David Warner)

Save Kohli and AB de Villiers, who scored a brilliant 41-ball 70, the other batsmen have not registered any significant contributions and will need to chip in and contribute to ensure there is enough balance.

Will Bangalore get their batters to fire or will Hyderabad make it a happy Sunday at home? Let’s wait and watch.